Paul Jones

Paul Jones is the voice of the Raptors on the FAN 590 and writes regularly for Sportsnet.ca.

Golden State's rookie sharpshooter Stephen Curry.

The loss to the Warrriors may come back to bite the Raptors in the posterior.

If you're a Raptors' fan all I can say is, "Oh boy that one hurt last night and it could leave a mark." It could be a big bruise that might show up after the season if they are unable to put some wins together and hang onto a playoff spot.

Chris Bosh missed a lay-up that could have won the game for Toronto after a furious comeback by the Raptors. Golden State built a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter and nursed it home for a 113-112 win putting Warriors Warriors Don Nelson into the history books.

Thanks to the win "Nellie" is now tied with former Raptor bench boss Lenny Wilkens for the most coaching victories ever in the NBA.

It would have been an improbable ending as Bosh went to the line with Toronto down three points with only 2.9 seconds to remaining. He made the first shot and tried to miss the second shot but as the night had gone for Toronto, he mistakenly hit the free throw. There was a surprised look on Bosh's face when he scored the second shot and later, in the locker room, he said that he was trying to miss to have the ball pop straight up. The Raptors do have a play designed for those situations but it never materialized as the shot found the bucket. But it all turned into a chance for a win when Sonny Weems stole the inbound pass and as he was falling out of bounds saved the ball, blindly, right into the hands of Bosh who had his contested shot miss the mark. Following the game in the Warriors locker room, Corey Maggette thought that Turiaf might have got a piece of Bosh's game-winning attempt.

But the Raptors lost the game long before the final frantic rally fell short. They allowed the Warriors to shoot 58 percent in the first quarter and put up 37 points. Through three quarters, Golden State had put up 88 points shooting close to 51 percent from the floor. Toronto has to do a better job with its intensity. To make matters worse, Toronto couldn't make shots. If you take away Bosh's 11 of 19 from the floor, the rest of the team was 30 for 67.

Teams like the Warriors, (and Sixers on Saturday,) have little to play for at this point in the season and thus play fast and loose with no pressure. Say what you want about 'Nellie ball', the banged-up Warriors are forced to play with "D-league" call-ups on the roster and those guys play hard as they try to earn a spot in the league for next year. That said, Toronto has to set a better tone and protect home court against a team that before yesterday's win, counted its road wins on one hand.

And you know what, you can teach an old dog a new trick as Don Nelson started the fouling game with 10.7 seconds remaining in the game and his Warriors up 3 points. Now I admit, I am a convert and believe that unlike the old days when you never fouled when leading I would employ the strategy now. I was transformed in 2004 during the Pistons "five-game sweep" of the Lakers in the finals when Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown did not foul in Game 2 when leading by three and Kobe Bryant hit a game-tying three-ball and the Lakers eventually won in overtime. And even though I thought Nellie started it too soon, I mean foul for one possession but not three when the other team has two time outs remaining, it worked out for him.

OK, about the last few critical seconds of a game. Ever have to purposely miss a free throw to have a chance for the rebound and a game-tying or game-winning shot? So, how do you do it? Well there are a couple of ways. Bosh said last night he was trying to shoot the ball a bit higher and follow through to miss it long so the ball would "pop up in the air". Stephen Curry said the same thing, you have to miss straight and long so the ball hits the back rim and comes back in the middle of the lane, hopefully traveling far enough past the first four players that are crashing the glass in the lane. The other way is to step a bit to the left or the right when lining up on the free-throw line and shoot a regular shot. With the ball traveling for the middle of the hoop, it now hits the side of the rim instead of the opening in the hoop, it catches the rim and caroms left if you move to the right or vice versa.

It was interesting to chat with Curry before the game in the locker room. He mentioned that some of his dad Dell's former teammates are still in the league and they talk trash to him when he plays against them. It's all in fun, of course, with the most famous or notorious if you are a Raptors' fan being Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter. Curry says he will take some time off this summer when the season ends, go back to North Carolina, where his dad is working as a TV analyst for the Bobcats, in Charlotte and hit the weight room to try and get stronger. The youngster mentioned that it is how you take care of your body and time away from the court that is really important to maintain your career. He hopes to be invited to play for USA basketball at some point and remarked that the toughest cover as a point man in the NBA is Deron Williams with his combination of moves that go along with his size, speed and strength.

And before I go, a Happy Birthday to devoted basketball fan, Michael Todd, aka the Cookieman. He is one that always keeps me on the treadmill because of my propensity for cookies and sweets. If you want to see why just visit cookielovers.com to find out.